Sugar Rush
by Anonimonster
Summary: Nora goes on a rampage after consuming too much sugar. Can Ren stop her before she destroys all of Beacon? Or will she drag him with her to the brink of insanity? As with all things Nora, expect the unexpected. Featuring Ren and Nora as well as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, and Pyrrha.
1. Prologue

Ren tried to stay focused on the remaining few minutes of the last lecture before break. Nora sat next to him, and as usual, wasn't paying any attention to Dr. Oobleck. She kept herself entertained by trying to balance her pencil on its tip. At least she was somewhat behaving herself, yet mastering that simple technique wouldn't help her pass this class.

The other students were getting restless. Most couldn't wait to go home for the week and see their families. Though he and Nora weren't going home, Ren looked forward to the opportunity to catch up on sleep. . . if Nora would let him.

At last, Oobleck drew the lecture to a close. "I am not assigning any work over the break. I hope you all enjoy your vacation, but be prepared. As soon as we come back we are going to begin the next unit. I hope to have it covered in one week's time. You are dismissed."

The students filed out of the classroom. Pyrrha and Jaune were amongst the first to leave and were waiting for Ren and Nora outside the door. Once they were all together, the quartet returned to their dorm room.

By suppertime, most of the students had already left for home. The dining hall was almost empty, with maybe thirty students remaining. Most of the students staying behind seemed to be upperclassmen. To Ren's surprise, he and Nora weren't the only ones from their circle of friends to stay at Beacon. Jaune and Pyrrha were looking forward to a rigorous training schedule over the break. Blake had personal reasons for staying, and Weiss didn't want to put up with her family for the week. Ruby and Yang lived not far from Vale anyway, so they saw no need to go home when they could visit whenever they wanted.

The group hung around after they all finished eating to engage in their usual banter. Nora mystified Yang with her tall tales, Ren interrupting here and there to straighten out the details. Blake was buried in a book. Weiss worked on her nails while listening to Ruby, Pyrrha, and Jaune talk about the upcoming competition.

After about an hour, team JNPR departed. Jaune and Pyrrha went off to. . . wherever they usually went off to. Ren dragged Nora back to the dorm room. He planned on finishing the group presentation Professor Port assigned in their Grimm Studies class so he and Nora wouldn't have to worry about it the night before it was due. Nora complained, but ultimately gave in.

With the two of them working together, they were finished in two hours, just in time for Ren's favorite time of day. After getting Nora to calm down, he shut off the lights and they both went to bed. As he drifted off to sleep, Ren wondered what kind of trouble he and Nora would inevitably get themselves into during the break.


	2. Chapter 1

"It's so boooooring." Nora complained. She and Ren were walking back to their dorm from supper. They were only two days into the break and Nora was already bored out of her mind.

"It's relaxing." Ren quietly replied.

"No. It's boring."

"We could go home if you think it's that bad."

"Ok, it's not that boring." She perked up. "At least Jaune and Pyrrha are here, too. And Ruby's team! And a few other innocent bystanders." she added with a mischievous grin.

Ren let a grin slip past his usual deadpan. Thought they each loved their families, they preferred to stay away from home. Like Nora said, they had some good friends here, whereas back home, the odd pair didn't fit in. Ren's impassive expression returned at the memory of the social pressures they both felt growing up.

An excited gasp from the short redhead drew him out of his thoughts. Nora must have an idea.

"Hey, Ren, are Jaune and Pyrrha going to be training all night like they did last night, and the night before?"

"I believe that was their plan." Their two teammates were training well into each night now that they didn't need to worry about waking up on time for class.

"That means we'll have the whole room to ourselves!"

"Yes."

"Let's build a fort! And then we could have a pillow fight. Or, no!" she gasped in excitement. "A mattress fight! Let's have a mattress fight!"

"Yes to the fort, maybe on the pillow fight, no to the mattress fight."

"Aww, you're no fun. Pleeease?"

"No, Nora. The last thing I need is a problem with my mattress."

"But you sleep too much! Screwing up the mattress might be a good thing. "

"I sleep too much because I'm tired."

"But you sleep, like, eighteen hours a day."

"Twelve."

Ren held the door to their dorm open for Nora and followed her inside. By the time the door clicked shut, Nora had already begun shifting the furniture around. Ren was content to sit back and watch Nora's imagination run wild, ready to lend a hand here and there when she would inevitably need a third or fourth.

Ren had forgotten about the maple syrup the team kept hidden from Nora under Pyrrha's bed. As soon as Nora moved the bed, she forgot about her plans for the fort and snatched up the bottle.

"Put it back, Nora." Ren ordered.

"But I just want a little."

"That's what you always say. Now put it down."

A mischievous grin stretched across her face. "You can't make me." She flipped open the cap and took a swig of the sweet syrup.

"Famous last words." He leapt at her, aiming to grab the bottle.

With a giggle, she stepped out of the way, tripped Ren, and jumped on top of one of the beds. After taking another quick sip, she dangled the bottle in her fingers, smiling at Ren with a drip of syrup oozing from the corner of her mouth.

"You're toying with me?" He said with a half grin as he pushed himself off the floor where Nora had stood only a moment ago and dusted himself off. "Nora, you know you shouldn't have too much of that. Remember what happened last time?"

"Not really," she said cupping her chin in her hand, "but I do remember it was way more fun than a mattress fight."

"For you perhaps. You booby trapped the entire campus. If Ozpin hadn't been so impressed, you would have been suspended for a month."

"I don't remember any of that."

"What do you remember?"

"Putting pink dye in your soap. You looked so cute! Even Cardin thought so."

Narrowing his eyes, he remembered that incident. He had to scrub with sandpaper for a week to get that to wash out. "I'll give you one more chance. Hand it over."

"Oh, okay." Her shoulders drooped as she reached the bottle towards Ren.

Ren cocked his head and squinted at her. Nora never gave up that easily. He cautiously stepped forward and reached for the bottle, only to watch it disappear as Nora bounced away, laughing like a small child.

"Can't catch me!" she jeered as she somersaulted from bed to bed.

With his arms crossed, Ren watched her from where he stood, and waited. She bounced from one bed to the next, off the wall and back to the bed again, giggling the whole time and sneaking more sips here and there, splattering syrup everywhere. When she tried to flip over him, Ren reached up and grabbed her by the ankle. He used her momentum and slammed her into the bed next to him, the impact making her lose her grip on the contraband. A part of him thought he was being too rough, the other part reminded him that this was Nora.

He smugly smiled at her. "You were saying?"

"Aww," she complained, looking not at Ren, but at the bottle that was now out of her reach. "I only got to finish half of it."

"Only?" He echoed, maintaining a tight grip on her squirming ankle. "What a shame. Hey!" He exclaimed as a pillow bounced off his face, startling him into letting her ankle go.

With the force of a freight train, Nora tackled him to the ground and the two tumbled across the floor until Ren found himself trapped in a bear hug. She cupped her right hand around her left fist and crushed it into his sternum, squeezing the air out of his lungs.

"Like my new bear hug?" she taunted. "I thought of this during Anatomy class last week."

"Stop, Nora!" he wheezed. "I can't breathe!" She was too strong. There was no way he could out muscle her, but he tried nonetheless.

"I'll let you go if you let me have the rest." She sang in his ear.

"No, gah! No, it's not good for you. You've had enough!" He felt her grip get even tighter, he desperately tried to draw a breath, but couldn't inhale more than a sip of air.

"You know what else isn't good for you?" She laughed impishly. "Not getting enough air."

Ren felt his extremities start to tingle. After a few more moments, his vision faded and his body went limp. Nora immediately released him when he passed out.

"Oops, uh Ren?" her voice wavered. She nervously poked at him. "I-I didn't mean it, you were supposed to give up before that happened."

"Gotcha!" Ren snapped as he grabbed her wrist with blurred speed, eliciting an 'eep' from the startled girl. Before she could react, he pulled her to the floor, jumped on her back, crossed her wrists behind her, then forced them as close to her neck as they would stretch.

"What?! You're a faker! Faker, faker, faker, that's cheating! Cheapskate!"

He indulged in a rare, evil laugh. It was fun to be the villain sometimes. "Sounds like someone's a sore loser."

"That wasn't fair, I want a do over!" She strained to free her arms, but Ren knew that the only way she was getting loose was if he let her.

"Nope. You're staying right here until your sugar rush is over."

"Meanie." she huffed. "You're hurting me."

"If you hadn't almost strangled me, I might feel bad." He didn't like to do this to her for that reason, but this time, she definitely deserved it. Still, he did feel a little guilty.

"I'm sorry! I said I didn't mean it!"

He leaned forward so he could speak in her ear. "If you promise never to do that to me again, I'll let you go."

"Promise!"

He let go of her wrists and got off her back, snatching up the syrup bottle before she had a chance to grab it.

"Yay!" she exclaimed, stretching out her arms. "Aww," her shoulders slumped when she saw Ren had confiscated the syrup.

"Did you think I was going to let you have it after all that?" He flipped the cap shut, trying not to get his hands sticky. Feeling a sudden unease, he looked over his shoulder at Nora, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He found himself in the crosshairs of her fiendish stare and wild smile.

"Round two!" She yelled as she lunged after him, or rather, the bottle of syrup.

He sidestepped her frantic assault and jumped back to dodge her next swipe. He had to get rid of the syrup before she tired him out and managed to drink the rest. He was not willing to be responsible for the next Nora disaster, but he got hit with another pillow, distracting him long enough for Nora to trample him, grab the syrup, and run out of the room laughing like a maniac.

With a growl of aggravation, Ren got up, brushed himself off, and shot after her, and in moments the distance between the two closed. Nora may have been the stronger of the two, but Ren was faster, though he wasn't fast enough to see her toss the empty syrup bottle over her shoulder until it hit him right between the eyes. "Ouch, hey!" While he was distracted, Nora whirled around. '_Oh shit_.' He thought, but he didn't have time to react. "Nora, wait, stop! Don't!" _BAM!_ Nora tackled him at full speed.

Taking off down the hall, she sang, "You can't catch me! You can't catch me!"

He got up off the floor and ran after her. He wasn't mad at her. After all, she was only playing around, but he needed to catch her before this got out of hand. He chased her into the stairwell and rushed up to the next floor. At the very last step, Nora jumped out in front of him, saying "Boop." as she tapped his nose.

Startled by her sudden appearance, he slipped and he fell head over heels back down the stairs, crashing to the landing and bumping his head against the wall. Groaning, he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head while he shook off his daze, glaring at the impish redhead laughing at him from the top step.

"Uh, oh." she exclaimed when she saw him get up. He ran back up the stairs and tried to grab her, but she bolted a moment too soon, cackling maniacally.

Refusing to let her out of his sight, Ren ran after her. He shook his head in amusement as he watched her attempt a wall jump, only to fall flat on her face, giggling the entire time. He tackled her and they once again tumbled across the floor.

'_Crap. . ._' Ren looked up at Nora, who had him pinned beneath her. _'I should know better by now._' Her eyes narrowed and a Cheshire grin stretched from ear to ear.

"No, Nora, Stop!" He shrieked in an uncharacteristic falsetto between bouts of uncontrollable laughter as she tickled him without mercy. He tried to push her off, but it was impossible to find the strength between involuntary spasms. His lungs seized when she pecked him on the temple before taking off, leaving giddy laughter in her wake.

He shook himself out of the flustered shock of the unexpected kiss. He weakly tried to get up, gasping for breath between remedial laughter, but he was too shaky from sensory overload and collapsed back on the floor.

"What just happened?" he moaned.

Minutes later, he stumbled into the common room. Ruby and Weiss were sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee and exchanging notes. Both were in their pajamas. They looked up to see a much disheveled Ren collapse in a chair next to them.

"Ruby. Weiss. I need your help." He said between breaths. He felt like he had been in a train wreck. "It's Nora," he gasped.

Ruby didn't seem to care that she had a half-eaten cookie in her mouth, she spoke anyway. "Yeah, we know. We heard you and Nora fooling around in the hallway."

"We weren't fooling around."

"Yes you were," Weiss corrected. "You were chasing her through the whole dorm and you wound up getting tickled senseless. How is that not fooling around?" She and Ruby won this round. "I also want to add that you shriek like a little girl." She quipped.

Ren felt warmth flush his cheeks as he winced and sank further into the chair, "You saw the whole thing?"

"Yup," they chorused.

"You know, Ren," Ruby said, as she got up and made her way to the coffee pot. "That's not the brightest way to get a date."

"That's not what-"

"Yeah, yeah," she dismissed him.

He groaned.

Ruby poured herself another mug of coffee, adding cream and five sugars. "So, why do you need our help?" Ruby returned to the couch, set her coffee down next to a half-eaten box of cookies on the side table, then turned to face Ren and Weiss.

"Yeah," Weiss added, "she too much for you to handle?"

'_Why do women have to be so vicious?_' He couldn't help but ponder. "You two are enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Well," Weiss continued, "it's a hell of a lot more entertaining to watch you fumble over your girl troubles than it is to sit here and work on Port's assignment."

Ren didn't like how matter-of-factly that sounded. "Are you going to help me or not?" He was ready to give up before they found any more amusement at his expense.

"Sure," Ruby said. "What do we need to do?"

"We need to catch her before she gets herself into trouble."

"Ren, I already told you-"

"No, Ruby, that's not what this is about!" He wasn't going to let her go there again. "She. . . she drank all the maple syrup."

"Are you kidding?" Weiss moaned. "Please tell me you're joking! That's what's going on?"

Ruby giggled, "Sounds like Nora's sugar high again." She reached for her coffee.

"Yes, sugar high and on the loose." Ren added. "We need to make sure she doesn't do anything too crazy and hurt someone. . . or herself."

"Uhh, hey, guys," Ruby's voice wavered. "My coffee mug is empty. . . I could have sworn I just filled it."

"Ruby," a look of dread crept across Weiss' face. "Wasn't there a box of cookies there a second ago?"

Ren jumped up out of his seat and surveyed the room. A trail of crumbs led to the east wing. Without a word, he took off, following the trail with Ruby and Weiss in close pursuit. He heard heavy footsteps racing away from them. The footsteps paused. Ren had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They raced around the corner, and were greeted by one of Nora's explosives heading straight at them. Ren dove face down onto the floor, and Ruby and Weiss ducked back around the corner. They managed to dodge the assault, despite the close quarters, but were showered with falling debris from the blast.

When the smoke cleared, they saw Nora at the end of the hall with Magnhild pointed at them, staring down the trio with a menacing scowl. She wasn't laughing anymore. In a matter of mere minutes, she had gone from relatively stable to disturbingly volatile. It was frightening.

"Nora," Ren said, slowly getting back to his feet so as not to startle her. "Nora it's okay. We're here to help you." The way she was staring at him made him uneasy. "Please," he took a deep breath and an uneasy step forward, "Please try to relax, and-"

"Why won't you leave me alone!" she roared as she shot another grenade at the trio opposing her.

Ren rushed forward and absorbed the impact with his aura, but the force of the shockwave threw him on his back. Turning Magnhild into hammer form, the crazed huntress before him swung full force at the floor beneath her and disappeared in the rubble.

"Nora!" Ren got up and tried to run after her, but something held him back. He looked over his shoulder to see that Weiss had him by the collar of his green tailcoat.

"Ren, this is bad." She said, letting go of his collar. "She's had so much sugar she can't even control herself."

Ruby added, "We need to get the others and put a plan together. Chasing her like this isn't going to work. She's even worse than the last time this happened."

He looked at the girls, then back toward the massive hole in the floor. "All right." He sighed, and the trio hurried back towards their rooms.


	3. Chapter 2

Blake and Yang were waiting for them in the hallway outside their rooms.

"Hey," Yang said, "We got your message. We managed to get a hold of Jaune and Pyrrha. They were out doing their nightly training, but they're on their way."

That was good news, Ren thought. They were going to need all the help they could get. As he took out his scroll to unlock the door, he heard the girls go into their room across the hall, except for Blake, who stayed out in the hall. He opened the door to the room he, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora shared, and his eyes widened. "Oh, no." he groaned.

"What is it?" Blake walked over. She gasped when she saw the mess. Desk and dresser drawers were strewn about, and the beds were toppled over. There was blood splattered all over the floor. Her bow twitched. "This can't be happening, Nora's crazy, but she's not a murderer!"

"No," Ren said. "That's not blood. It's the sap we had to collect from Forever Fall for class." He pointed to the four empty mason jars littered about the floor. He grabbed Stormflower out of his closet, kicking an empty box of pancake mix out of his way. On a whim, he walked over to Nora's closet. An empty pill bottle lay on the floor in front of it. "Damn it, Nora!" He cursed as he picked up the bottle. His suspicions were confirmed.

"What is it?" Blake asked again.

"It's nothing." Ren said. "We don't have time to waste. Are the others ready yet?"

Blake gave him a funny look. "Why are we in such a rush? Why not wait 'til she tires herself out? It would be a lot easier."

"This is Nora we're talking about." Ren said, pointing to the abstract tree sap finger painting covering the walls. "Think of how much more she can do in that time. Can you see what's taking your team so long to get dressed? I'll be out in a moment; I need to find something."

"Right" Blake walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Ren pulled a chair over to his closet. Using it as a step stool, he began rummaging on the top shelf. He retrieved a small, rectangular cardboard box about the length of a pencil and hopped back onto the floor. He put the box in his pocket and left the room, carefully closing the door behind him. As he did, a muted rumble accompanied a tremor strong enough to make the building shake for a full five seconds. It caught him off guard, causing him to nearly lose his footing. The situation was worsening.

Blake knocked on the door across the hall. "Are you guys ready yet? You're taking forever."

Weiss' voice boomed from inside the room. "Ruby, they're all the same color, just pick a damn cape!"

"Guess not," the faunus sighed.

Footsteps echoed from down the hall, and Ren looked to see his two other teammates Jaune and Pyrrha running to meet them.

"Sorry," Pyrrha said. "We rushed over as fast as we could."

Jaune was winded from sprinting back to the dorm. "Yeah, so. . . what is going on exactly?" Again, the building shook beneath their feet, throwing Jaune off balance and onto the floor.

"Earthquakes?" Pyrrha asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yeah," Blake said, "Nora's the epicenter."

Jaune regained his footing, "Nora's causing this? Ren, is she okay? What happened?"

"Syrup, tree sap, cookies, and Ruby's coffee. Also, don't go into our room." Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged worried looks. Ren continued. "We need to stop her, or she's going to get herself hurt. We've already tried chasing her down, but she'll destroy everything in her path, including us, to get away."

Pyrrha sighed. "I know destruction is one of her guilty pleasures, but this is a little much, don't you think?"

At last, team RWBY's door opened and the three girls joined the others in the hallway as another tremor rocked the building.

"Well," Pyrrha pondered a moment before continuing. "At least most of the other students are away for the break."

"Good." Blake added. "The last thing we need is for someone to try and stop her, only to wind up getting themselves killed."

"You mean like what we're about to do?" Yang bellowed.

"Yang! Knock it off!" Ruby glared at her older sister.

An explosion thundered, violently shaking the building. All the lights faded, and the hum of the air conditioning waned as pitch blackness and eerie silence over.

"Well, that's great." Yang remarked as the emergency spotlights flickered on.

"We need to get moving." Weiss said. "That came from downstairs."

The group ran down the dimly lit hall and took the staircase down to the next floor. A thick cloud of dust two feet high cloaked the hallway floor. Ren noted it was almost impossible to see his own feet.

"Weiss, are you sure it came from this floor?" Ruby asked as the group carefully made their way down the hall.

"Of course I am!" she proclaimed. "Have a little more faith in me, would-_ahhh!_" She squeaked as a series of tremors threw her to the floor. The others had to brace themselves against the wall to avoid being thrown off their feet. Cracks rippled through the paint on the walls as the building slowly lost its integrity. "Okay, maybe I was wrong" the heiress admitted once the tremors ceased.

"We need to hurry and find Nora before the building collapses." Pyrrha urged, trying to get the group to focus.

"Right, let's get going," Jaune said as he took off towards the stairwell. The rest of the group followed behind him.

"Jaune, slow down," Ren warned, concerned about the poor visibility, but the warning came a moment too late. The blonde disappeared down into the dust cloud with a yelp.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called.

"Ugh, what a klutz," Weiss complained.

Barely make out the edge of the massive hole Jaune fell through, Ren carefully crouched near the opening, failing to make out anything of the room beneath. He looked up to Pyrrha. "Take the stairs, I'll go after Jaune."

Without waiting for a response, he descended after his leader, careful not to catch himself on the sharp debris lining the edge of the hole in the floor. Falling farther than he expected, his feet slammed hard into the uneven floor. His legs buckled under the force of the fall, and as he collapsed he winced as something sharp sliced deep into his arm just below his left shoulder. He covered the bleeding gash with his hand.

"Jaune?" The veil of dust was much thicker here, completely obscuring his sight so he could barely assess the wound on his arm. He applied pressure with his hand, hoping the bleeding would stop soon. His lungs burned from inhaling the tainted air. "Jaune, can you hear me?"

He heard Jaune coughing not too far away. Ignoring the pain from his twisted ankle injured in the fall, he carefully got to his feet, "Jaune, are you all right?" he coughed.

"Ren, over here," his bumbling leader called. "Follow me."

Ren rolled his eyes and limped in the direction of Jaune's voice. The dust in the air stung his eyes, further inhibiting his sight. "Jaune," he choked, "I can't see, what is it?" He wondered how Jaune knew where he was going in this hazy mess when he couldn't even see the damned hole he fell through upstairs.

"I can't see either," Jaune coughed. "Just trust me."

'_The blind leading the blind, this should end well. . .'_

They carefully made their way through the dark, dusty hall, led only by their familiarity of the building. With his slight limp, it was a challenge to find solid footing. Ren couldn't help but wonder how the building was still standing as it creaked and swayed above them, but the structure was a testament to Beacon's security measures. In case of a Grimm attack, a structure that couldn't stand this type of abuse would cost many lives.

"Hold on, here is good." Jaune said as he rummaged through the rubble on the floor.

"What are you-"

"This'll do!" Jaune interrupted. With the sound of a match striking, a faint glow emanated from Jaune's hands.

"Fire?" Ren asked, equally curious and confused.

"Nope, guess again." Jaune answered.

Ren gave up trying to understand his leader's antics, and watched as best as he could through the blanket of junk clouding the air. Jaune carefully lit a piece of lumber he had found on the floor. When the flame was strong enough, he lifted the makeshift torch up to the ceiling, triggering the emergency sprinkler system.

"Jaune, what the hell?" Ren exclaimed at the sudden shock of cold water drenching him in a matter of seconds.

"Just chill for a sec. Cardin showed me this." Jaune said, trying not to laugh as his torch hissed and sputtered a dying protest.

"This is no time for stupid pranks." Ren snarled, trying his best to shield himself from the onslaught of water.

"Relax, I could use a shower anyway." Jaune laughed. As suddenly as it happened, the sprinkler system shut off. "Huh," Jaune pondered. "That was quick."

"Jaune, what the hell are you thinking? How did that even work?" growled an aggravated Ren, trying to shake off the water weighing down his clothes. "Well, explain yourself," he demanded, but the tall blonde stood there with a smug expression, adding to Ren's irritation. '_Wait a minute_.'

He looked around him in disbelief, marveling at the destruction he couldn't see moments ago, for the dust clouding the air and obscuring their vision was gone, washed away by the unwelcome torrent. Rubble littered the floor, entire walls were missing, but the ceiling here was still intact, answering why the sprinklers had worked. Pale moonlight peeked through cracks in the creaking structure and reflected off of the wet surfaces.

It wasn't often he found himself dumbfounded, especially by his blunderbuss leader. His expression must have betrayed him, because Jaune was doubled over in laughter. Having realized what a fool he'd made of himself, he crossed his arms and hung his head in a defeated sigh.

"Hey, I'm not _that _useless, am I?" Jaune laughed, tossing aside his burnt out torch. The haze of water in the air brought welcome relief to their irritated eyes and lungs.

"I never doubted you for a second." Ren's sarcasm was answered with a quick, playful jab to his shoulder. He pulled away and grabbed his wounded arm, hissing in pain.

"Whoa, Ren, are you alright?" Jaune gaped at the blood dribbling down Ren's arm. "I'm sorry; I didn't know you were hurt. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I forgot about it while I was trying to figure out your stupid plan." Ren sat down on a twisted steel beam from what used to be a wall and removed his tailcoat. He ripped the sleeve off of his black shirt and tied it around the sticky wound. "How did you come up with something so ridiculous?"

"Well, Cardin made me do that once so class would be canceled."

"That was you?" Ren said in shock, remembering the incident.

Jaune let out a hesitant laugh, "Yeah. He made me do it so he wouldn't be the one to get in trouble." Jaune took a seat next to Ren. "When Goodwitch was rambling on after I got caught, she spilled how the system worked. It's heat activated. After one minute it stops, and if the heat sensors don't pick up anything else, it won't go off again. It's a built in precaution to prevent a lot of water damage in case there isn't actually a fire. It's kind of a handy feature for a school, especially considering how Nora burns dinner every time she tries to cook."

The mention of Nora shifted Ren's attention back to the task at hand. She must have calmed down a bit, as it had been a half hour since the last disturbance. That or she was no longer in the building and on the loose on campus. Satisfied with his bandage, he took the other sleeve and wrapped it around his ankle to give the stressed joint a little extra support. Slipping his wet jacket back on, he rose to his feet, despite a throbbing protest from his sore ankle.

Jaune must have noticed his change of thought. "It looks like we're at ground zero, huh? Damn, you know, I'm happy she's on our side."

"Not today she isn't." Ren answered.

"Speaking of that," Jaune said as he got up. "Do you have the uhh. . ."

"Yes," Ren cut him off, showing Jaune the small box he retrieved from the room.

"So, do the others-"

"No, and I'd like to keep it that way." Ren started walking farther down the hallway, carefully watching his footing.

"Hey, Ren, uhh," Jaune hesitated. "Listen, I get that you're just trying to protect her, but they're her friends, too. They'll understand."

"That's enough." Ren shot an irritated glare over his shoulder at Jaune, who was quick to shut up. A chilly draft wafted through the weakened building. His wet clothes provided no shelter from the breeze, and he felt his skin prickle up at its teasing touch. "We need to keep going. When we find the girls, don't you dare-"

"I won't, I promise." Jaune put his hands up in surrender. He caught up to Ren and the duo continued down the corridor.

"So," Ren said, "Why didn't you warn me before you set off the sprinklers?"

"Well, Nora told me how much you _love_ surprises-"

"That's a lie, jackass." Ren laughed as he returned Jaune's punch from earlier, and the two friends laughed it off as they continued their search.


	4. Chapter 3

She sat in the corner of a large, dark room, her face buried in her knees and her arms curled up and over the back of her head, shielding herself from her assailant's taunts.

"Nora," his voice teased. Every time she heard his voice, every time she saw him fleeting in the corner of her vision, he became more and more real. Fighting hadn't worked, neither had running. She could only hope to wait it out, but he was persistent, crowding out her thoughts and replacing them with his own.

"Go away!" she pleaded, "I know you're not real!"

"But I'm right here, Nora."

"Leave me alone," she moaned.

"What if I don't? What are you going to do?" He taunted her. "You're all alone. No one wants you, you're better off dead."

Suddenly, an invisible force clenched at her throat. She recoiled in terror, the feeling subsiding after only a moment. As dark, guttural laughter emanated from the shadows of the dark room, chills skittered down her spine.

"Nora." She felt his prickly breath on her neck. Jumping up, she turned to face him, but there was nothing behind her.

"You're pathetic." His voice hissed from the shadows.

"Stop toying with me and show yourself!" She growled, equally scared and angry. An unseen force pulled her to the ground, and she scrambled back to her feet before his massive form materialized in front of her and cuffed her across the face. She swiped back at him, only to watch him dissipate away.

"You're worthless." From behind, he jerked her backwards, laughing as she stumbled to regain her footing. She watched the shadows dance and undulate around her, not knowing where he would come from next.

"What can you do?" his voice grew more sinister with every passing moment. "I can see you shaking, you know you're helpless."

"Why won't you leave me alone?" her voice trembled. Rage and horror overwhelmed her. She felt him brush her shoulder and threw her fist in that direction, but met only empty air as his presence circled her from the encroaching shadows.

"I'll leave you alone, but you have to do something for me first."

"You're not real!"

"Then make me go away."

Furious, she drew Magnhild and shot randomly into the growing darkness, brilliant blasts momentarily banished the shadows. Vicious laughter confirmed the futility of her effort as the shadows grew darker and stronger. Its tendrils lapped at her surroundings, swallowing it all in a blanket of pitch blackness as the glowing red eyes of amorphous demons, manifestations of her fear, peeked from their dark cover, impatiently waiting their turn.

He charged at her from the darkness and slammed her against the wall. Scrambling back to her feet, she extended Magnhild into hammer form. She swung at him, but her hammer slipped right through him and into the floor. A hard blow landed on her back, knocking her down again. Before she could recover, the darkness rushed at her from all around and completely consumed her.

'_Where am I?'_ She froze in fear, as her eyesight adjusted to the dark room. '_No! How did I get here?'_ Her big sister lay nude and motionless on the floor, a tall, dark figure towering over her in the dark. The man slowly made his way over to where little Nora now stood frozen in fear in the doorway to her sister's room. His heavy steps shook the floor and the strong scent of alcohol tainted the air.

"I thought I told you to stay in bed, you little bitch." He slurred in a deep growl, now standing directly in front of her. Without hesitation, he clubbed her with his massive fist, sending the small child to the ground. Desperate to get away, she tried to clamor to her feet, but his heavy boot stomped down on her back, pinning her painfully to the floor. He pulled her skinny arms back and tied a cord around her wrists.

"If you dare make a sound, I'll kill, you. Understand?" he grumbled, winding another cord around her ankles. He pulled her back into the room and threw her on top of her sister's cold body. Kneeling over her, he sliced away her nightgown with a small knife, making no effort to keep the blade from cutting into her skin. As he fumbled with the fabric, she boldly kicked him in the groin, and he screamed and doubled over in pain. Sickened by the sight blood oozing out of her chest, she tried to get up, but she couldn't free herself in time.

Like an angry bear he reached back at her. "You piece of shit!" Seething with anger, he grabbed her bound legs and in one swift motion snapped her right ankle to the side. She screamed and writhed in agony as her ankle flopped outward at an unnatural angle. A large hand grasped her throat. "I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut!" he snarled, and as his paw crushed her windpipe, she gasped for air. She tried to scream, but no sound would come out. Her terrified eyes met her attacker's as she choked and sputtered before her vision finally faded to black.

Cold water shocked her awake. Her lungs were desperate for air. Her body violently trembled, recovering from the cruel memory. She weakly rolled over and got to her knees, steadying herself with one hand and cupping her aching throat in the other as she gasped for breath. She could barely see anything through the heavy rain. '_It's okay.'_ She thought as she tried to calm herself. '_It's okay, it's over_.'

The rain faded away, a gentle mist left behind. Unable to make out where she was through her blurred vision, she fought back the panic to get her breathing to slow to a normal rate. Little by little, the shaking stopped and her vision cleared. Once she was able to take slow, deep breaths, she finally relaxed.

Sopping wet, she looked around realizing she was in a room in a destroyed building, with no memory as to how she got there. Nothing made sense anymore. When she pulled herself up to her feet, terrible pain awakened in her ankle and she screamed as she immediately fell down again, instinctively grabbing her inured right foot.

Her eyes widened as she realized that her ankle wasn't broken, yet phantom pain paralyzed her. It was then that she noticed the red marks on her wrists where the cord had been wrapped.

_'What is going on? That was years ago.' _Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to ignore the imaginary pain and tried to stand up again, only to collapse back on the floor. Despite knowing she was fine, her ankle continued to insist otherwise and refused to bear her weight. Bracing herself against the wall behind her, she made one last attempt to coax her noncompliant ankle to function properly. '_This is ridiculous!'_ With a scream of frustration she fell back to her knees and pounded the floor with her fist.

"I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut!"

Looking up, she saw him walking towards her. She tried to make a run for it, but stumbled back onto the floor. "Get away from me!" she yelled.

"Mommy and Daddy aren't here to save you this time."

Her body trembled; primal fear gripped her and wouldn't let her move. '_No, I'm not a scared little girl anymore.'_ Despite her inner protest, her body wouldn't budge. She watched helplessly as the beast closed in on her, growing taller, darker and more sinister with each lumberous step. '_Nora, you're a huntress now. Snap out of it!'_ Fear's intangible restraints broke away. She drew Magnhild and fired two rounds at the beast approaching her. Her grenades hit their mark, the explosions ringing sweetly in her ears.

"Nora, run!"

"Hazel?" Nora called, recognizing her sister's voice.

"Nora, run! He's going to kill you!"

"Hazel, where are you?" She frantically scanned the smoky room for her sister. Someone grabbed her arm, scaring the breath out of her. She looked up to see Hazel right beside her, familiar light brown hair in matted snarls down her back, and her white nightgown torn and bloodied. Ugly, purple marks adorned her neck. Nora's sister pulled her up to her feet. She grimaced in pain, but with her sister's support, she found her footing.

"You need to run!" her sister urged, disappearing into the haze.

"Hazel!" Nora ran in the direction she last saw her sister, biting through the sharp pain in her ankle as the shadows crept in around her and the creatures of the darkness were unleashed. Knowing she couldn't outrun them, she turned and extended Magnhild into its hammer form. With a battle cry, she smashed the nearest creature.

Another jumped on her from behind, but she threw it off with strength fueled by desperation. Smashing her hammer down where it lay, she watched it dissipate into the mist, allowing the ground to take the impact. She fired another round, using the recoil from the explosion to propel herself backwards.

"Nora!"

She turned and saw her sister slipping through the wall, beckoning her to follow. Collapsing Magnhild, she blasted through the wall and leapt through the falling rubble. Crashing to the ground outside, her ankle finally gave up its charade, and as adrenaline fueled her exhausted body back to its feet, she sprinted into the night after her sister's fleeting form, refusing to lose her again.

* * *

><p>Ren and Jaune walked down the hallway hoping to find any sign of their missing teammate. Broken walls and splintered ceilings and floors only said she had been there, but not when or where she had gone. Ren sighed, trying not to let worry distract him. He felt Jaune's hand gently placed on his shoulder.<p>

"Hey, we'll find her. Don't worry." Jaune tried to sound reassuring, but Ren could hear the uncertainty in his friend's voice.

A scream ripped through the silence, startling the two boys. Recognizing it as Nora, they ran after the sound which came from down the hall. Peeking inside the doorway to what used to be a large meeting room, Ren's heart skipped a beat as he saw Nora struggling to stand. She let out a frustrated roar as she fell back to her knees in a great deal of pain.

"Nora," Ren called, carefully approaching her, not sure of how she would react.

She looked up at him, her face was pale and her eyes wide. She stumbled trying to back away. "Get away from me!" she yelled, her body visibly trembling.

"Nora, it's okay," Ren calmly said, pain sinking into his chest as he watched his friend frozen in fear.

"Ren," Jaune whispered from behind him. "This isn't good, she doesn't recognize us."

Without warning, Nora shot two grenades at them. Jaune stepped in front of Ren, blocking one of the grenades with his shield. The two boys were blown back by the blast, and the other grenade exploded overhead.

"Hazel?" they heard Nora frantically call. "Hazel, where are you?"

"Who's Hazel?" Jaune asked, getting back to his feet.

"Are you guys all right?" They turned to see Pyrrha and the others rushing towards them.

"We found her," Jaune pointed through the smoke to where Nora was forcing herself to her feet. "We need to move, she's hurt."

"Hazel!" Nora yelled, breaking into a run.

Pyrrha and Ren ran after her, the others following behind. Nora changed direction and madly charged straight at them. Pyrrha tried to use her semblance to snatch Magnhild, but was interrupted as Nora heaved the heavy weapon at her. She met the mighty hammer with her shield, Akouo, but the force of the blow knocked her across the room and into the wall.

Ren jumped onto Nora from behind, but in a show of brute force she flung him onto his back. He rolled out of the way as Magnhild crashed into the spot where he laid a moment ago. She fired another round, using the recoil to propel herself backwards and to avoid getting caught in Weiss' glyph.

"Nora!" Ren called, scrambling to his feet. Ruby and Yang ran after her, but ducked for cover as Nora blasted through a wall, allowing herself out of the building and disappearing once again. Ren raced outside after her, but there were no clues as to which way Nora had fled.

"Damn it!" He yelled as he fell to his hands and knees. The others caught up to him.

"Is everyone all right?" Ruby asked.

"I don't think Nora is," Jaune said. "She looked pretty beat up."

"She can't be _that_ bad if she thought she could take us all on." Yang added.

Ren slowly stood up, letting out a defeated sigh.

"Ren," Weiss' icy voice chilled him. "What is it that you're not telling us?"

Her question piqued everyone's interest and he felt all of their gazes on him. He saw Jaune tense, a look of worry on his face.

"Something isn't adding up." She continued. "She's had this sugar problem plenty of times before, but she's never acted like this. She could have killed someone just now. She could have killed _you._"

"Weiss is right." Ruby added. "She doesn't recognize us at all; I don't even think she realizes where she is or what's going on."

Ren held his breath, not sure what to say. He bowed his head so he wouldn't have to look at them. "I don't know."

Weiss grabbed him by the collar and looked the defensive boy straight in the eye. "Why are you lying to us?"

"Weiss, hold on," Pyrrha interrupted, "Let's not jump to conclusions."

"Pyrrha." Jaune grabbed her shoulder and when she turned to face him, gave a small shake of the head. Without needing another word he turned back to Ren.

Ren sighed. Gently but firmly, he grabbed Weiss' hand and removed it from his collar. "I don't know." He said, straightening out his wet jacket. He didn't know what else to say. He loathed being the subject of interrogation, especially in front of an audience, and he racked his brain for a way to get himself out of this mess so he could get back to finding Nora.

"You can stall all you want," Weiss lectured, refusing to back down "but we're not going to be able to help Nora until we know exactly what's wrong with her."

"There's nothing wrong with her! She's just a normal person that-"

"That has some serious issues." Weiss finished his statement for him.

Ren's silence spoke volumes.

"So you don't deny it then?" Weiss stated more than asked.

Checkmate. He sighed, dropping his head in defeat. "No."

"Alright then. Start talking." She ordered.

Ren was sweating. He wasn't ready for this. This was none of their business. If he had to, he would find her by himself. Meeting Weiss' gaze for one brief moment, he took a step back and turned to walk away.

Or so he had tried, but one of Weiss' glyphs ensnared him around the waist mid pivot.

"One way or another, Ren, I'm getting the truth out of you."

Instinctively, he tried to tug himself free of the odd force. It was as if it weaved through the fabric of his being rather than circle around him. It was a weird, uncomfortable sensation. His heart was pounding and he felt a hole in his stomach. He closed his eyes to calm himself and took a deep breath. "And if I refuse?"

"Then we'll be here all night and we'll let Ozpin and Glynda handle this in the morning. That way they can see firsthand what kind of hazard she is." Weiss said.

"You and I both know you can't sustain this glyph for long."

She drew Myrtnaster and spun the dust chamber. In one swift motion a wave of ice engulfed him almost entirely. "You're right. This is much easier." She let the glyph fade away and sheathed her weapon.

"Weiss," Yang finally spoke up, "Don't you think you're going a bit too far?"

"Yang, think about it for a second. He's been leading us along this whole time, and despite being fully aware of how dangerous this situation is, he is perfectly okay letting us think it's just another one of her sugar episodes. Something is _very_ wrong with Nora, and we don't even know if _he_ knows how to stop her. If we keep doing this, someone is going to get hurt or killed. No one here can take a hit by Magnhild without ending up dead, not even you."

"I have a way to stop her, I need you to trust me." Ren pleaded. He felt like his head was spinning. Despite being encased in ice, he was still sweating and his pulse picked up again. He closed his eyes once more, but wasn't given the silence he needed.

"You want us to _trust_ you?" a tinge of aggravation slowly crept into Weiss voice. She circled him until they were face to face again. "Ren, you've been lying to us this whole time. We _did_ trust you, and you took advantage of that. Had you come clean with us at the beginning, we wouldn't be wasting time sitting here trying to pry the truth out of you. We might have even been able to stop her by now."

"I'm trying to protect her!"

"You're protecting her from the wrong people. Until we know what's wrong with her and how you plan to resolve it, there's nothing we can do to help her. Chasing her like this is only making her act more dangerous. We need to come up with a plan, and to do that, you need to tell us what's going on."

"Ren," Ruby's calm voice was a startling contrast to Weiss. "She's right." Some of the others nodded in agreement.

At this point, he had no choice. Weiss had choked off his options one by one.

"Alright," he surrendered. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "But if you want the whole story, someone needs to get me out of this or I'll freeze to death before I'm finished."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Ren shivered against the gentle breeze robbing him of his body heat. Hugging himself tightly, he tried to shake off the ice that still clung to him. He clenched his jaw shut to keep it from clattering.

"Weiss, I _told_ you!" Yang scolded. "He's turning blue!"

"Says the firecracker that almost blew us all up!" Weiss sassed, wiping the soot off her face. She stomped and threw her fists down in aggravation. "Next time when I tell you to be careful, at least make an effort!"

It was true. Yang had been a little too reckless in freeing Ren from his icy prison. He didn't mind that part so much, though. Maybe she would distract Weiss long enough for him to-

"Ren, get back here!"

_'Crap_. . . ' With a defeated sigh he hung his head and his shoulders slumped as he slowly shuffled back to the group.

Jaune scooted over with a childish grin. "Hey, Ren. I thought that while everyone was exchanging 'I told you so's-"

"_Sh-sh-sh-shut up, _J-j-jaune!" He clattered, shooting daggers at the boy who backed off with a mischievous laugh. Pyrrha shook her head and rolled her eyes at her two teammates.

"I bet that's what the Grinch looks like." Blake joked, with Yang, Ruby and Jaune giggling behind her.

_'Why me?'_ Ren rolled his eyes and looked away, hoping he wouldn't have to take any more abuse.

"Hey! That's enough fooling around." Weiss scolded. "You guys are as unfocused as a school of brain dead goldfish!"

"Hey, Mr. Bubbles takes offense to that!" Jaune retorted.

Pyrrha elbowed him, "Your pet fish isn't brain dead, Jaune."

"Oh."

"I said enough!" Finally everyone got the hint and shut up. "Ren, start talking." She looked at the freezing warrior. "You weren't hoping that I'd forget, were you?"

"N-n-n-not in th-the s-s-sl-slight-t-test."

Weiss slumped her shoulders and facepalmed as Yang popped over her shoulder and said, "I told you so."

* * *

><p>Ren was grateful for the few precious minutes it took to speak coherently again. It gave him a chance to calm his nerves, but he was concerned that they were wasting too much time. There hadn't been any sign of Nora since she escaped the dormitory.<p>

He looked at Weiss, who stood with her arms crossed, impatiently drumming her fingers. She returned his gaze with a raised eyebrow. '_Now or never.' _Ren reluctantly cleared his throat. He was still shivering, but not as badly as before. "Nora. . . she, well. . ." he hesitated, disliking that he was being forced to betray something so personal to his best friend.

"_Well?"_ Weiss impatiently pried.

He sighed. "Nora has vivid hallucinations. They started about ten years ago." He didn't like the way Weiss' eyes narrowed, but he continued. "Her medication keeps her from having them . . . when she remembers to take it."

"So that empty pill bottle you found?" Blake inquired.

"She ran out. She was supposed to go to the medical center to get more."

"Ren," Ruby asked. "How bad can these hallucinations get?"

He took a deep breath, ready to get to the worst of it. "When the hallucinations start, she is able to reason against them, but as she gets worse and they become more frequent, it becomes harder to rationalize what is real and what isn't. Eventually, they become so overwhelming that she completely loses touch with reality. That's when she becomes irrationally paranoid, as you've seen."

"Not to mention violent." Yang added.

"No," Ren corrected with a shake of his head, eager to dispel the notion that she was just blindly smashing things. "She'll only attack when she feels threatened. Right now, she's only trying to escape whatever she thinks is after her."

Shuffling his numb fingers through his jacket pocket, Ren dug the small bow he'd retrieved from the dormitory. He opened it and tapped its contents out, showing everyone the small, glass syringe inside. It was about the size of a pen. A plastic cap covered the small needle. "It should knock her out, but might take a few minutes to take full effect. After she passes out, we need get her to the hospital. I've only got one of these, so if we screw up, we won't get a second chance."

"Well," Weiss sneered. "If that psychopath keeps-"

"Don't call her that!" Ren snapped, cutting off whatever nonsense Weiss was about to say.

"Why not? That's exactly what she is!" Weiss argued. Ren narrowed his eyes at her, daring her to continue.

She crossed her arms in front of her and took the dare. "What would you rather I call her? A maniac? A lunatic?"

"You hardly know anything about her!" Ren growled.

"You don't need to know much to figure out that she's a complete schitzo! I just _knew_ something was off about her when we first met. They have a special place for people like her, and it's _not_ Beacon!"

"Is that all you think of her? That she doesn't belong here because she's different from you?"

She took a step toward him, stomping her foot into the ground. She was so close he could feel her icy breath on his face. "She doesn't belong here because she's a threat to society!"

"People like _you _are far more dangerous to society than Nora ever will be!" He fumed, jerking his pointed finger toward her_._

"Guys, that's enough!" Blake tried to interject, but Weiss shoved her away.

"How _dare_ you! Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"A narcissistic shrew who instinctively scorns anyone _remotely _different from you."

She took a step back at the exaggeration and slightly tilted her head back, maintaining her icy glare. "Well, at least I have enough self-control to not start smashing everything that moves whenever something pushes me over the edge." She leaned towards him. "And you're lucky for that, or I'd be ripping you apart."

"Do you think you can imagine what's going through her head? She isn't aware of what's going on, and it's not her fault!"

"Hey," Yang said, stepping between the two and pushing them apart, "both of you cut it out!"

"You have some nerve!" Weiss spat from behind Yang. "I'm just trying to help and you-"

"If you're trying to help, you're doing a poor job of it." Ren growled.

"Well maybe if you weren't such a stubborn pain in the ass we might actually be able to get something done!"

"You're saying this is _my_ fault?" He took a step forward, but Jaune grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"You're being ridiculous!"

Shoving Jaune off him, Ren growled, "Perhaps I _am_ for expecting any of you to understand." He turned about and stormed away.

"Get back here you- Hey!" Weiss squeaked as Yang lifted her off the ground.

"Let him go, Ice Queen." Yang said as she put the grumbling Weiss down.

"That could have gone better." Blake mused. "Now what?"

"Uhh," Ruby ungracefully interjected. "How about we split up? I'll go with Weiss to Beacon Tower. Yang, you and Blake take the dining hall. Jaune and Pyrrha, catch up to Ren, and when he's ready, head for the lecture hall. If anyone finds out where Nora is, alert the other two groups. Then we'll regroup and go after her."

Blake and Yang exchanged glances and were off, while Ruby and Weiss headed in the opposite direction.

Once the others were gone, Jaune took a deep breath. "Think he hates us?"

"One way to find out." Pyrrha answered as she began to walk in the direction Ren disappeared to with Jaune close behind.

* * *

><p>Ren didn't make it far. Slumped against a knobby tree trunk in the far corner of the garden, he sat hugging his shoulders with his head hung. His eyes started to sting as memories of growing up with Nora flooded his head.<p>

"Hey," Pyrrha called from the edge of the garden. Ren looked up to see his teammates approach. "Are you okay?" When they reached him, they each took a seat on the ground next to each other.

With a sigh, he lowered his head again and said "I'm fine." But with his choked pitch, he didn't sound it, and he knew it.

"Ren, we know this is hard for you." Pyrrha said. "She'll be okay."

He swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head. "Right now, she's trapped in a nightmare and she can't get out on her own. If we can't help her, it's just going to keep getting worse until she. . ." His voice choked off. Clutching himself tighter, he didn't realize until now that he was shaking. '_Keep it together'_ he told himself. '_This isn't the Ren they're supposed to know.'_

"Until she what?" Pyrrha quietly asked. "Ren, what's going to happen?"

He took a deep breath to try and steady his nerves. They were her teammates, too. They cared about her, and they deserved to know. "When she was first admitted to the hospital psych ward ten years ago, she was like this for three days. She couldn't sleep, and she didn't eat at all. Rather than tiring out, she kept getting more restless.

"By the third day she became extremely aggressive and incoherent. She had attacked one of her caretakers, managed to get out of her room, and nearly broke through the locked door that separated the psych ward from the rest of the hospital. In order to protect her, the other patients, and the medical staff, she had to be restrained, but that caused her to panic, and she went into respiratory arrest."

"What?" Jaune asked. "Wait, what does that mean?"

"The hallucinations serve as a trigger for a condition known as excited delirium, which can cause sudden death by respiratory failure, hyperthermia, or cardiac arrest. If we screw up. . . " His voice was trembling. Closing his eyes, he grabbed his left elbow with his right hand.

"Ren." Pyrrha asked, "You were there. Weren't you?"

Taking a deep breath, he paused a moment before pushing himself up off the ground. "We're wasting time."

As he walked away, Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged a quick, worried glance before following behind.


End file.
